The Junior’s P-90 has always packed plenty of punk.

Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Jr

Floyd is the name of Billie Joe Armstrong’s 1956 Les Paul Jr. The Junior was first released by Gibson in 1954 as a simplified Les Paul for beginners. While the Junior is simpler, its P-90 pick up pacts a lot  punch as pretty much any Green Day song will attest.

Released in 2006, the signature Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Jr. is based closely on the Green Day frontman’s Floyd, with updates that make it a great punk rock guitar. The P-90H pick up embraces the vintage P-90’s single coil snarl, but cancels the hum. The also differs from the original with a thinner easier to play 60s. Just the thing if you’re looking to act upon any three chord dreams. May we suggest Basket Case as a great beginner strum.

Why Armstrong named his guitar Floyd was still undetermined at publishing. Current theories range from Billie Joe’s hidden desire to be in a Pink Floyd cover band to, the more puck rock theory, that he named it after a three-legged dog he once owned, which died tragically from a heroin overdose. But the smart money is own the idea that saying Floyd made a stoned Armstrong giggle and he stuck with it.

Disclaimer: none of these theories are based in any known fact.

Following Green Day’s induction into The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, the band seems to be ramping up to release a new album. There’s been no specific date set as of yet, but if you believe the blogs, Billie Jo and Co are in the studio.

Find out more about the Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Jr. at Gibson.com